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Friday, December 4, 2009

Sleeping under the stars

I made my bed for this post peeps. This is BIG. HUGE. I hate making our bed. So you know it’s something I really want to show you. :) I have to tell you, this is one of my most favorite Christmas decorations I’ve ever done. And it’s somewhere you would never guess – our bed! (Now now now – get your heads out of the gutter! This is a PG blog.) :)

It all started with this photo I saw in the Pottery Barn catalog a couple months ago:

I don’t know why, but I fell absolutely head over heels in love with the idea of greenery draped over the canopy rails and the little ornaments hanging down. How dreamy. For weeks I’ve been planning how I could do the same.

I thought I would just use some greenery I already had, but when all was said and done this week, I had little left to use. All I had was the skimpy dollar store garland, and I tried to beef it up by weaving some together, but it just wasn’t right. So because I wanted to do this so bad, I took another trip to Big Lots for the natural looking greenery from our mantel.

But then…THEN…during a quick stop to Lowes, I found IT. Real white pine greenery – in all it’s fabulous, silky fluffiness. It was gorg. I kept petting it and loving on it and putting it in and out of my cart. I’ve never bought real greenery for decor – I use cuttings from our tree and that’s it. So spending money on something that was going to dry up in a few weeks was like pulling my teeth.

BUT it was just $7 for 20 feet. And it was so soft and droopy and I was in lurve. I took it home. I started by halving the greenery, then draping it around the rails. I secured it here and there with floral wire:

I knew from the very start what I would use instead of the ornaments – my dollar spot lanterns from Target! I took them right out of the outdoor storage bench, and even kept the sand in them:

I used my little LED lights so there’s no danger of fire! (That’s the important part.) I can easily access them to turn them off, but they have so many hours of power, I may just leave them on.

I just tied up the lanterns with floral wire as well, and varied the lengths:

Oh my goodness gracious holy canoly shut the front door. I. love. it.

This is how it looks with the lights down low:

The tag says to mist the greenery with water to keep it fresh longer. I really hope it holds up – anyone know how long it will last?

Hubby loved it so much, he asked “Can we just leave it up all year?” Serious as a heart attack. Be still my heart, I love that man.

I’ve done a few other little things in our bedroom I’ll show you soon, but one last thing for tonight is the red “pillow” on the bed:

Please ignore the massive divots in the mattress. Those showed up pretty much immediately and they drive me mad! Taking pics of our bed gives me hives because of them. The poor red pillow is sinking into an abyss.

I wanted just a pop of red on the bed, and thought about buying a red pillow, but then remembered something I had seen somewhere in blogland – a pillow made out of a towel!:

I just took a towel, rolled it up, then rolled it up in the red silk (that I already had). To secure it, I stuck the fabric into the each end:

This is temporary, of course. But it has my mind going – with some batting to make it more substantial, and a bit more work, this could be a “real” pillow!

Our bedroom is one of our favorite rooms in the house – we just love being in there. So last year I started decorating just a bit for Christmas and it’s just dreamy. Hanging the greenery took very little time and total cost was $7. Totally worth it to sleep under twinkling lights. ;)

I've had real wreaths and sprayed them with water and they have lasted well past Christmas. I think you'd be good as long as you are spritzing on a regular basis. You'll just have to worry about needles dropping. That might not make for peaceful sleep. The bedroom is gorg! thanks for sharing!

Sarah,As usual it looks fab! I'd love to try it, but 1)don't have a canopy, 2)our allergies would be in full force and 3)ummmm...I'll have to think on that one! LOL I am a huge fan of PB, but like you try to find ways to do it on the cheap. I so need to check out our local Big Lots and Dollar Store!!

As my four year old would say, "Holy Crap-a-moly". You are amazing!! I want a canapy bed just to do that. I love Christmas and deck out my whole house, but have never spread it to the bedroom. You have just opened my eyes to new possibilities, thanks!

Oh I SOOOOOO hear you on the making the bed thing. We have a king and it's not like any other bed where you can just reach across, it's such a process. Those little lanterns are a-mazing with the greenery. I have always wanted a canopy bed since I was a little girl, this is just one more reason added to my list.

This looks SO dreamy! If it wasn't for the fact that we use our canopy frame to hang wet laundry ;) I would totally do this! Thank you for the heads up on Lowe's having the greenery for sale - I've been wanting some for my mantel to give our living room the REAL evergreen smell - the Bath and Body spritz spray isn't cutting it! LOVE IT!

Enchanting! I make the bed everyday. It makes me feel like I'm organized and that I at least accomplished one thing before I even hit the kitchen. I had no choice as a child, so it has stuck w/me for ever :-)

Oooh, I love it! It is so pretty! And oh my, I am in awe of that towel idea. How smart!! Then you can take any old towel you don't want anymore, and make it into something fabulous!

I decorated my room this year too, and I love it! I have a skinny tree in our room. It's so pretty. Go check it out. I did a Pottery Barn inspired advent just for me. It's super pretty, if I do say so myself!!

And I do! :)

I may be stealing this idea for my room next year bc I love the smell of fresh greenery. And how nice would it be in your room??

Love it!! And LOVE the easy, cheap pillow trick too! How much money does that save?!

I've never commented before, but I stalk your blog...all the time. Tomorrow I'm making your centerpiece. I've been lusting after it for a while now, and just HAVE to have one for my Christmas decor. I'll let you know when I finish, and I'll post pics on my blog.

Love the red "pillow" too. One of the easiest pillows I've ever made used a roll of batting that was intended for a baby quilt. Just roll it up, wrap it in fabric, tie the end with pretty ribbon and you're done. :)

gorg! and yes, what is UP with those divots?! we are on our 4th or 5th mattress set in 14 yrs of marriage--the current one is a semi upper end line from beauty rest and had the divots within several months--not a comfy feeling, waaaah.

That looks Fab.u.lous!!! I love it! Looks like your bed belongs in a chauteau among some snowy alps somewhere. I don't normally decorate my master but I did add a few little things that say Christmas this year.

I saw this picture and did the same thing to our bed upstairs, but I used a 9ft strand of lighted garland. Yours definitely looks more like the picture than mine does! I haven't blogged about it because I don't like to make our bed, either!!!! :)

Hi thrifty girl,You just crack me up! love that your husband was as serious as a heart attack! who wouldn't love a hubby to say that! so cute!You did an outstanding job as always, just delightful and so different, and love the red pillow idea. I just took a pillow and tie ribbon around it to look like a Christmas package cause I put a throw over the sofa and hadnothing to match it! Necessity is the mother of all invention, isn't creativity such a God given thing.Hope you are doing well hon,Blessings, Nellie

How dreamy your bedroom is. I have no idea how long that greenery will last, but I know the two of you will enjoy it while you have it. The lanterns are so gorgeous! What a stupendous idea you had to use those! In a previous post you told us where you got your bedding - I remember going and checking, but sadly, they had no more. I think it was on e-bay, right? I adore your bedding. You were sooo lucky to get it, and if I remember, you got it at an awesome price, too.

Love your blog, and you are the.very.first.one I check when I sign on each day.

You are so funny! I love how you write! You're just my favorite blogger ever! Hope the consultations are going wonderfully! I just wish you were my neighbor because I've got so many things to ask and so much i need advice on!

Absolutely love the greenery and candles over the bed...at first I thought they were real candles and I was getting ready to call the fire department for you...but now that I know they are LED candles I feel better. Anyway, it is beautitful and I love the pillow too!

I'm thinking it will last about 3 weeks or so -- depending on how much you'll be heating your home. The heat toward the ceiling of the room will dry it out, so just keep spritzing with water. You'll know it's life is ebbing when the needles start falling into your eyes. Hee-hee.

Hi Sarah! I love the way the greenery and candles look! I have a question, where do you get your LED tea lights? I've been seeing them a lot lately but the ones I see are not LED and I would like to find some that are. Thanks!

THIS IS AWESOME! So glad you went for the real greenery, I do it every year and never regret it:) What a treat to get into this bed every night. I've wanted a canopy bed for awhile now and you've got me really thinking of doing it!!! Thanks:)

am i a year behind on this post? anyway, just saw it.I'm waiting for my new PB bedding to inspire 'fresh look." I am hooked on real garland and I kep thinking hubs would not be psyched about candles and garland and then I saw your note about the little led candles. already planning for next year. thanks for the post in 2009 or 2010?? laura